Meaning & use
presentment
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountablefinancelegal
The formal act of showing a bill, check or promissory note to the person who must pay or accept it, so that payment can be made.
Grammar: Mostly uncountable: presentment of the check is required before the deadline.
Patterns
- presentment of something
- presentment for payment
Presentment of the check must occur within a reasonable time.
The bank rejected the note because of late presentment.
Proper presentment for payment protects the holder's rights.
nouncountablelegallaw
A formal written statement by a grand jury, made on its own investigation, that a person or situation should be looked into or charged.
Grammar: Historical or specialist legal term; a presentment differs from an indictment drafted by a prosecutor.
Patterns
- a presentment against someone
The grand jury issued a presentment criticizing the county's handling of public funds.
Under older law, a presentment could start a criminal case without a prosecutor.
The newspaper published the presentment in full.
nouncountablearchaic
The way something is shown or portrayed, especially a picture or a performance, in older writing.
Grammar: An archaic sense you may find in old texts; modern writers say presentation.
The painting was admired as a faithful presentment of the old harbor.
The play's presentment of the king was unflattering.
Old critics praised the presentment of her character in the novel.
Word forms
| plural | presentments |
|---|
Common combinations
- presentment for payment
- Presentment for payment must be made at the bank named on the check.
- timely presentment
- Timely presentment is essential for a negotiable instrument.
- grand jury presentment
- The grand jury presentment named several officials.
- presentment of a check
- Presentment of the check came three months late.
- delay in presentment
- A delay in presentment can excuse the endorser.
Synonyms and how they differ
- presentation
- Presentation is the everyday word for showing or offering something, and is not tied to money or courts as presentment is.
- submission
- Submission means handing something over for review, and lacks the specific legal sense of demanding payment.
- indictment
- An indictment is a formal charge drawn up by a prosecutor, whereas a presentment comes from a grand jury's own investigation.
- tender
- Tender is the offer of payment or goods, while presentment is the demand for payment.
Word family
- present verb
- to show or hand over formally
- presenter noun
- a person who presents something, especially a holder of a check
- presentable adjective
- fit to be shown
- represent verb
- to act on behalf of, or to portray
Commonly confused: presentment or presentment? presentment or indictment?
presentment vs presentment
Do not confuse it with presentiment, a strong feeling that something is about to happen.
presentment vs indictment
An indictment is a formal accusation drawn up by a prosecutor. A presentment is a grand jury's own accusation or report.
Practice
A holder who takes a check to the drawer's bank to demand payment is making _____.
Choose one answer.
Presentment is the formal act of presenting a check for payment. A presentiment is a feeling of foreboding, and an indictment is a criminal charge.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “presentment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.